Found this today
Any thoughts? @Markw84 I know you work on conservation efforts for these torts, have you heard of this?Potential new species of giant tortoise discovered in the Galápagos Islands
There is currently not enough evidence to prove they are a genuine new species, or just a distinct population of an existing one.www.nhm.ac.uk
I do know about this. I am on a long road trip right now for the Galapagos Tortoise Alliance with limited access except when I take a break for food! So don’t have ability for much explanation. Short answer - it send by genetic analysis they have found the tortoises on this island are actually different than the genetics of the species they are identified as now. The DNA of remains found in caves there are actually matches to the species ID. So the ones there now and still surviving should be considered a different species. No surviving individuals of the species matching the remains tested. So apparently there must have been 2 separate species sharing this island. One of which is recently extinct and should bear the species name. The existing tortoises would therefore the “new” species!Found this today
Any thoughts? @Markw84 I know you work on conservation efforts for these torts, have you heard of this?Potential new species of giant tortoise discovered in the Galápagos Islands
There is currently not enough evidence to prove they are a genuine new species, or just a distinct population of an existing one.
